Part 3: talking about how cities will change
You can make a prediction about cities in Part 3 and support it with a change that is already happening.
Part 3 is the last part of the Speaking test: four to five minutes of discussion. The examiner's questions grow out of your Part 2 topic, but they are more general, about people and society more than about you.
On cities, a question may look back or ahead: how your town has changed, or what cities will be like in thirty years. A prediction sounds convincing when it rests on something you can already see happening.
Warm-up
Which start is stronger?
The examiner asks: Do you think cities will be better places to live in the future? Read three first sentences.
Which is the best way to start the answer?
How it works
We've been talking about this topic, and I'd like to discuss with you one or two more general questions related to it.
Let's talk about changes in cities.
- How has the town or city where you live changed in recent years?
- Why do so many young people move to big cities?
- Do you think cities will be better places to live in thirty years' time?
- What will cities need to do as more people move into them?
- Will people still want to live in city centres in the future?
These would follow a Part 2 card about a place in your town. The examiner may also ask a follow-up question, such as: Why do you think that is?
Building an answer
- 1Give your view first
One short sentence that answers the question: In some ways, yes, or Probably not, at least not in my city.
- 2Point to something happening now
A change you can see today makes a prediction believable: new metro lines, rising rents, shops closing, people moving out.
- 3Say what you expect, and how sure you are
Choose the verb that matches how certain you are: will, will probably, might, probably won't.
- 4Add an example or a condition
A real example from your city, or a condition: if the metro keeps growing, unless rents come down. Four to six sentences in all is a good length.
How sure are you?
will, is going to. Use going to when you can see it coming now: With all those new flats, the traffic is going to get worse.
will probably, is likely to. Rents are likely to keep rising. Note the order: will probably, but probably won't.
might, could, may. More people might move back to the centre.
probably won't, is unlikely to, I doubt that. I doubt that cars will disappear completely.
Mistakes to avoid
- In the future will have more parks. The sentence has no subject. Say In the future, there will be more parks.
- I think cities won't be so crowded. English usually puts the not with think: I don't think cities will be so crowded.
- More and more people will moving to cities. After will, use the plain verb: will move.
- Maybe at the start of every sentence makes you sound unsure of everything. Use might, could or is likely to as well.
Watch me do one
The question: Will people still want to live in city centres in the future? First, my view in one short sentence: Some will, but I think fewer families will.
Then something I can see now: At the moment, young families in my city are moving out to the suburbs, because flats in the centre are small and expensive.
Then what I expect, and how sure I am: That's likely to continue, especially now that a lot of people work from home two or three days a week.
Then a limit, so the answer is not one-sided: Older people might move the other way, though, to be near hospitals and shops.
That is four sentences, about thirty seconds. Every prediction in it rests on something that is already happening.
A model answer
I think in some ways they'll probably be better, especially for getting around. In my city, they've opened three new metro lines in the last ten years, and a lot of streets in the old town have been closed to cars. If that carries on, the air in the centre should be much cleaner in thirty years. What I'm less sure about is housing. Rents have gone up so fast that most of my friends still live with their parents, and I don't see that changing unless the government builds a lot more flats.
- CoherenceThe view comes first, and especially narrows it to one area straight away.
- GrammarThe present perfect, for a change that runs up to now. This is the evidence for the prediction.
- VocabularyCarry on is natural spoken English for a trend continuing.
- CoherenceSignals a turn to the other side, so the answer does not sound one-sided.
- GrammarUnless with the present simple, for a condition about the future.
Coloured text shows what the examiner is looking for.
Practice with Elita6 questions
Four short questions on the language first. After that, two recorded answers, and I'll comment on each.
How sure?
Decide how certain the speaker is.
Rents in the centre are likely to keep rising.
One missing word
Complete the sentence with one word.
I don't think will be many petrol cars in the centre by 2040.
Write no more than 1 word.
Which sentence is wrong?
These sentences come from one Part 3 answer. Which one has a grammar mistake?
Which sentence contains the error?
Back it up
A candidate says: I think more people will work from home in the future. Choose the best next sentence.
Which sentence supports the prediction best?
Record: looking back
Answer as you would in Part 3: your view, what has changed, and an example.
How has the town or city where you live changed in recent years?
Record your answer (60s maximum)
0:00 / 1:00
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Record: looking ahead
Make a prediction, back it with something you can see now, and say how sure you are.
What do you think cities in your country will be like in thirty years' time?
Record your answer (60s maximum)
0:00 / 1:00
Set up your learning path at the top of this lesson to get band-specific feedback.
Words to keep
Travel from place to place in an area. Getting around the city is easier with the new metro.
Continue. If rents carry on rising, young people will leave the centre.
Leave the centre to live further away. Many families move out to the suburbs when they have children.
Be expected to happen, probably. Traffic is likely to get worse as the city grows.
Thirty years from now. In thirty years' time, the city could be twice as big.
A way to turn to the part of your answer you are less certain of. What I'm less sure about is housing, because rents keep going up.
Before you go
Open with your view: In some ways, yes, or Probably not.
Back every prediction with a change you can already see.
Choose the verb that shows how sure you are: will, is likely to, might, probably won't.
Say there will be, and put the not with think: I don't think it will.
Next: Next, you plan and write an essay on whether more people living alone is a positive or negative development.